“Maybe. What did you mean by another faction?”
“Historically the Shadow-Dwellers haven’t acted this organized. We’ve theorized Mimir’s rise to power has coincided with a level of coordinated effort we haven’t seen before from them. We can’t rule out the possibility of another faction forming within their ranks. It could explain the inconsistency of the threats. But delivering a dead kinswoman, traitor or no, is still a clear message of what will happen when you ignore them.”
His words rang true, and the heaviness of guilt once again gripped her heart. “Do you think Alvilda was killed because I didn’t go to them?” she asked, her words mere whisper.
Quinn shook his head. “I doubt it. More likely they’d already killed her and used her to make a point today. The amount of her blood at the cabin when she was abducted would have been difficult for anyone to survive without immediate medical intervention.”
Perhaps he was right, but Alvilda’s death still weighed on her heart right next to Luce’s. “What will they do next, after this… escalation?” Becka didn’t want anyone getting hurt because of the Shadow-Dweller’s lust for her Null power.
He leaned forward, reaching out for her hands. “We’ll talk to the chief and our team and come up with a plan to find Mimir before the Shadow-Dwellers strike again.”
Becka slid her hands into his. She squeezed his hands, and wanted to believe him, but the enforcers hadn’t been able to find the Shadow-Dwellers in all this time.
“Becka,” Quinn said, his tone firm. “I need to know that I can trust you. I can’t protect you if you hide things like this from me.”
“You can,” she replied, aching over his disappointment. “I swear I’ll do my best.”
She didn’t miss the hint of a frown that passed over his face. “I’m here for you, Becka, and I swear I’ll do whatever I can to keep you safe. When you keep things from me, it makes my mission that much harder. Please do your best. Trust me.”
Becka nodded. “I will, Quinn, I swear it.” As soon as the words were on her lips, a fresh wave of anxiety rolled over her. She felt the damaged trust between them as a heaviness that made it hard to breathe. But she forced a smile, relaxing just a little bit when Quinn’s slight smile surfaced in return.
She’d find a way to repair the trust lost between them. She had to.
Becka knew the Shadow-Dwellers weren’t going away and it felt like they were ten steps ahead of her. How did Becka know whether she was playing into their hands with every move? She was a mere pawn in Mimir’s game, unable to stand on the sidelines. Was this a game she could even win?
Could anyone save her? She had to at least let Quinn and the other enforcers try to help.
Regardless, she couldn’t stop or give up, if only because the Shadow-Dwellers would never let her.
Chapter 5
Chapter 5
After they arrived at the bureau, Becka was relieved for some time and space away from Quinn to let things between them reset a bit. Not only did the bureau have locker rooms but also changes of clothing available, and she put both to good use, storing her backpack in a locker.
After cleaning up and dressing in enforcer-standard black shirt, pants, and jacket, Becka pulled her damp hair up into a ponytail. She rinsed off the sea silk gloves and blotted them dry with a towel before pulling them back on. Not wanting to wear the damp gloves, Becka tucked them into her backpack for safekeeping. She found sets of sturdy rubber-soled boots and gloves to add to her ensemble, both in the trademark black.
When Becka emerged from the locker room, clad in an enforcer outfit and fresh from a crime scene, no one paid her much mind as she walked down the row of desks. About half the desks were empty, with a few occupied by enforcers talking on the phone or working on their computers. Most desks had piles of paperwork, which she assumed were case files, littering their surfaces.
She stopped at a desk where a human female enforcer was reading through documents and jotting down notes.
“Excuse me?” Becka said.
The woman looked up, her lips pursed with annoyance at the interruption, but then did a double-take and smiled at Becka. “It’s Becka Rowan, right?”
“Yeah, how…?” Becka replied.
The woman pointed to her hair. “The chief mentioned you’d be joining us soon, along with your pink-tipped hair. I’m Dawn French.” She smiled and held out her hand. Becka shook, surprised at the woman’s lack of fear of touching her, even with her gloves on. “Did you need something?”
“I’m looking for Quinn Oak.”
Dawn nodded, and pointed to a set of double doors at the far end of the floor. “Detective Quinn is in a meeting with the chief in the Meadowlark conference room.”
“Thanks,” Becka replied. “It was nice to meet you.”
“I’m sure I’ll see you around,” Dawn replied, turning back to her notes.
Becka headed to the conference room with a bit of pep in her step. Dawn had appeared genuinely friendly and happy to meet her. Based on the enforcers she’d met to date, perhaps that shouldn’t have surprised her, but Becka had had this mental image of grizzled, jaded detectives huddled in dark rooms pouring over notes from old case files. She might have read one too many noir detective novels. Becka was relieved to have her assumptions disabused.
She heard conversation on her right toward the back of the building, and spied a room with a trio of enforcers drinking and chatting. There was a whiff of coffee in the air. As she passed by, they all looked her way, their conversation stalling and one of them biting into a bagel as they watched her pass.
Okay, so some of her assumptions were correct. Then again, she could have just passed one of the faculty breakrooms on the institute’s campus and seen a similar sight. Colleagues gathering around the proverbial water cooler was almost universal.
When she reached the conference room, Becka raised her hand to knock. A few seconds later the door swung inwards with Quinn standing there, ushering her in. Despite the argument they’d just had, he was all business now.
“Glad you could join us,” he said. Despite the tension in his features, the warmth in his voice encouraged her that she was indeed welcome.
There was a long, rectangular table running the length of the room and surrounded by chairs. The far wall was entirely covered by a high-end display board filled with a series of mugshots, images of documents, and lines connecting them. Positioned near the top of the board was a drawing that stopped Becka in her tracks.
Mimir. A chill ran down Becka’s spine. The image wasn’t perfect, but the artist’s rendering was accurate enough that Becka had to remind herself to breathe. The short, dark hair. The angular features. The piercing gaze which might just cut you, paired with a ruthless expression.
She shook off her reaction, needing to keep focused, and moved on. Becka noted that there were multiple tabs along the bottom of the screen, with the current one labelled ‘Suspects.’ Multiple extra tablets sat on the table. A table sat along the wall next to the doors containing a stack of paper pads, a pile of sticky-note pads, and containers of pens, pencils, and highlighters. There was even a water pitcher with a set of glasses and a bowl filled with pretzels.
Becka had the impression this room had been dedicated to this single investigation and that the bureau had a fantastic office manager.
There was only one other person in the room: a fae-touched woman stood at the window, looking out at the city, but she turned to Becka as she’d entered. The elder had a regal air about the way she moved, but was short and stout for a fae, much like Quinn. Her ageless features were accented by her shoulder-length platinum hair and golden eyes so pale in color Becka almost thought them silver.
Becka walked up to her, intuiting this must be the chief. “Chief Elowen? I’m Becka Rowan,” she said, bowing her head slightly. Becka didn’t hold out her gloved hand and neither did the chief.
“It’s good to finally meet you, Becka. I’m Chief Elowen Oak.” Elowen’s gaze took
her in, and Becka had the sense her value was being weighed. Her Oak heritage made sense, considering her stature. Was it common for House Oaks to serve with the enforcers, or was there a level of nepotism going on here? “It’s good to meet the woman who’s piqued the curiosity of the Shadow-Dwellers. As you’re quickly becoming the resident expert in all things Shadow-Dweller, I anticipate you’ll be pivotal to helping us break open this case.”
The gravitas of Elowen’s words reminded Becka that the enforcers had been trying to hunt down the Shadow-Dwellers in the cities long before she’d arrived on the scene.
“I hope I can be,” Becka replied.
“I’m certain of it, assuming you can promise, right here and now, to never withhold information again from the team. Otherwise, you’re a liability to our efforts here.”
Becka felt like the air had been kicked out of her. Of course, Quinn had told Elowen she’d hidden the FIND ME message. Elowen was his boss and Becka had withheld evidence. But Becka had to fight to keep her focus and pleasant smile on Elowen, because inside she’d just turned to Quinn, grabbed him by the jacket, and shook him. She might understand why he’d done it, but it still felt like a violation.
What else had Quinn shared with Elowen? How much of their interactions were an open book to this woman she’d never met? Quinn wanted Becka to trust him and be transparent, but who else was he sharing their conversations with?
Surprisingly, despite the fact that Becka had kept secrets, Elowen didn’t seem upset or angry with her. They’d only just met, but Elowen read as practical and down to earth.
“I’ll share what I find with the team,” Becka answered, meaning every word. But would she be able to keep her words if Mimir further imperiled those she loved again?
Becka knew the truth in her heart. The lives of her friends and family would always take precedence over a promise. She could only hope it wouldn’t come down to breaking her word to Quinn or Elowen.
Elowen’s gaze flicked over Becka’s shoulder. Was she checking with Quinn regarding Becka’s honesty? Their roles switched, Becka would have done the same. She had done the same with Quinn in other situations.
It still burned.
“I suppose that’ll have to do for now,” Elowen replied. “Welcome aboard, Becka.”
“Thank you, Chief. That’s an amazing display,” Becka said, gesturing to the wall. “Does that represent all of the case evidence?”
“It’s our interactive evidence board,” Elowen replied. “It’s a touch display and we can pull up whichever case we’re digging into at the time, drilling down into the evidence as needed. Even with that, you can see we still reference the paper case files extensively.” She pointed to the stacks of files on the table.
Becka nodded. “I’m excited to see what information you’ve compiled.” Yet she wasn’t, not really. Anxious? Panicked? Nauseated? Yes.
“Quinn?” Elowen turned to him. “Take Becka to HR and get her set up in the system. That should give the others time to process the scene and return to debrief.”
“Will do, Chief.”
With that dismissal, Quinn led Becka out of the conference room, closing the door on Elowen, who remained staring at the wall of clues.
“This way.” He motioned for her to follow him, leading her toward the front of the building. He was still all business, like his focus was elsewhere.
“I didn’t know the chief was House Oak. Are you related?” Becka asked, trying to draw him out.
“We’re cousins,” Quinn replied. “It’s common for members of our house to serve as enforcers, as it suits our dispositions and aptitudes.”
He handed Becka off to a nice shifter lady named Emma, who got her picture taken, blood sample, and fingerprints recorded. After a short delay while the shifter set up her file, she was handed a shiny new enforcer ID, the title Consultant emblazoned beneath her smiling picture.
As they walked back, Becka clipped her enforcer ID to the lanyard the institute had provided her earlier, so the two IDs sat back-to-back.
“Now you’re doubly official?” Quinn asked.
“Triple, if you count my status with House Rowan,” Becka replied. “Sometimes it’s hard to believe how much has changed for me in the last six months.”
So much had changed, yet at her core she was the same strong, independent woman who’d gone back home to Tesse’s funeral. If she had to pick one thing besides the loss of those close to her, Becka would have named her disillusionment as the biggest impact from her prior self.
He smiled, but it lacked heart. “What position does the institute have for you?”
“It’s a fae liaison consulting position. Traut wants me in for occasional Q&A panels and available as an official advisor to the faculty. It’s weird because it’s never been done before, but that’s most of what I like about it. I’ve wanted to change things and break new ground. This is just the start.”
“I’m glad to hear of the opportunity, but I worry your work here at the bureau could get pretty time-intensive.”
“So I’ve gathered. But I can make it work,” Becka replied with a bravado she wasn’t at all sure she’d earned.
Quinn’s raised brow told her he knew she wasn’t altogether sure of that one, either.
When they reached the Meadowlark conference room, the others had returned from the institute. Becka recognized Hamish and Caeda, but not the pair of humans who joined them.
While within the fae territories, only the fae and shifter enforcers had been deployed, as it had been difficult enough to get Duchess Maura of House Rowan, her mother, to agree to any enforcer presence. The proportion of human enforcers present at the bureau looked to be about double that of their fae or shifter coworkers.
“Why don’t you have a seat and we’ll dig in?” Chief Elowen said. She and Quinn took the nearest seats.
Elowen sat at the far end of the table, leaning forward on her elbows. “I think most of you have met Becka Rowan, but I think this is a first introduction for both Ted Bateman and Nikkita Chadha. Ted specializes in forensics, while Nikkita is more of a field specialist. Quinn is the lead detective on the investigation.”
So nerdy-looking Ted was the resident blood and fingerprint geek? And with her ash-brown hair, average build, and soft features, Nikkita could have been any girl next door on any TV show. Becka wanted to ask what field specialist meant, but figured now wasn’t the moment.
Becka nodded. “Good to meet you.”
Ted pushed his glasses higher up on his nose and gave a quick, single wave. “Same.”
For her part, Nikkita did a quick up-thrust of her chin that read somewhere between a “hey” and a “bring it on.” “We’ll see,” she replied.
Average girl next door, Nikkita wasn’t. What had she been expecting, that her human teammates would jump for joy over her arrival? Becka was Mimir’s main target, after all. Not to mention her weird Null power that many read as a threat. If she added on her House Rowan status, that was likely a level of social standing, and thus optics, the team would also prefer not to have.
“You’ll have time to get to know each other more later,” Elowen said, cutting them off. “What’s important is I’m officially assigning Becka to your task force today. Also, I know you’ve all been working this investigation for a number of years now and I admit to treating it as a back-burner issue.”
Wait a sec. Quinn mentioned to me that he’d been investigating Shadow-Dweller activities for years. Exactly how long has this task force been in place?
“I think we can all agree that the past couple of weeks have demonstrated a substantial shift in Shadow-Dweller activities,” Elowen continued. “Where they used to seem content keeping their sordid activities hidden in the shadows, fear of discovery no longer appears to hold them back. We need to respond with the same level of dedication if we even hope to keep a handle on things. Therefore, I’m reassigning the remainder of your caseloads across the department. This task force is now not only your top priority
, but your only priority.”
“Except it’s not exactly,” Nikkita pressed. “With Becka on the team, we’ll also have the task of guarding her, not just hunting down the Shadow-Dwellers. Can’t she get a separate guard detail? Otherwise our attention will be divided, which means more work, and more danger, for us all.”
“I’ve assigned a few extra guards for her, but you’re right, it’s double duty.” Hamish and Nikkita both groaned, and Ted raised a finger, as if to ask a question. Elowen gave a sweeping hand gesture, the side of her hand cutting off their complaints like a knife. “Take it to someone who cares. Namely, Emma in Human Resources. She won’t be able to change anything, but she’s better at looking sympathetic than I am.”
Hamish looked shocked and Nikkita blew out a long breath of exasperation. Becka hadn’t considered the added weight of guarding her in addition to hunting down the Shadow-Dwellers.
Elowen went on as if nothing had happened. “The Shadow-Dwellers’ ongoing escalation has reached a new level today with the fountain murder. If they continue to kill and leave dramatic displays, we are going to have a very difficult time keeping the scope of their killings hidden from the public.”
The scope? There had been other killings? Just how many? Wasn’t this the sort of thing Quinn should have mentioned to her?
“I received a call from Mayor Hammer demanding to know what was going on just minutes after images from the magically shadowed fountain started hitting social media. Gratefully, you got the shield in place before the body was fully exposed, but there are already theories out there on what was hidden within the fountain illusion. Needless to say, the mayor doesn’t want Denver to be the touchpoint of the next magical battleground, if you know what I mean.”
Having studied the aftermath of the Great War on society in depth at the institute, Becka well understood Mayor Hammer’s concerns. It was said the Great War started off as a small skirmish in a border town and grew to encompass the world within only a few months’ time, feeding on the inequities of a world without magic for humans, and a world with magic for fae. There were conflicts over territory, as many fae lived side-by-side with humans back then. But as humans grew to fear fae magic, the cultures separated. Over time, human technology continued to evolve as their population grew, while fae magic and population dwindled. Yet the old prejudices remained.
Shadow Underground: A Romantic Urban Fantasy Murder Mystery (The Shadow Series Book 3) Page 5